Lenowisco Health District confirms first fatality associated with COVID-19

STAFF REPORT
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Updated Apr 11, 2020 at 10:47 PM

The Virginia Department of Health’s Lenowisco Health District announced Saturday evening that a resident of the district who was ill with COVID-19 has died. A post on the health district’s Facebook page said the death was in Wise County.

“We regret to announce that we have experienced our first local COVID-19-related fatality,” said Dr. Sue Cantrell, director of the Lenowisco Health District. “On behalf of all of us at VDH, I extend sincere condolences to this person’s family.

“Unfortunately, we’ve learned that those over 65 and those with underlying health conditions are at greater risk of serious complications from COVID-19,” said Cantrell. “Everyone, especially at-risk individuals, is strongly advised to take steps to minimize contact with others who are ill, practice social distancing and stay at home as much as possible.”

The fatality in the Lenowisco District, which includes Lee County, Wise County, Norton and Scott County, is not yet reflected in the VDH website dashboard, which is updated at 10 a.m. daily. Numbers are preliminary and close out at 5 p.m. the day before posting.

However, three new cases were reported in Lee County Saturday for a total of six, according to the VDH website. No new cases were reported in either Wise (eight) or Scott (three) counties.

Statewide, the number of confirmed cases across Virginia jumped from 4,509 to 5,077 with Saturday’s update. There had been 130 deaths and 837 hospitalizations reported in the commonwealth.

Earlier Saturday, the Tennessee Department of Health reported an increase of 252 novel coronavirus confirmed cases to bring the state’s total count to 5,114 as of Saturday. Tennessee’s death toll reached 101, including a second death in Hawkins County.

The Northeast Tennessee case count reached 128 overall, including 37 in Sullivan County, 22 in Hawkins County, 37 in Washington County, 26 in Greene County, three in Carter County, two in Johnson County and one in Unicoi County since the pandemic began. There have been four deaths in Northeast Tennessee: two in Hawkins, one in Sullivan, and one in Greene.